The invention relates generally to machines having an external casing. More particularly, the invention relates to in situ identification of components of machines having an external casing.
Many types of industrial machines such as turbines, include critical components which are encased within an external casing or shell. During the life cycle of a machine, these critical components may require inspection, repair, or maintenance in order to maximize the lifespan of the parts and the machine as a whole.
Tracking of component condition, repair status, and other details appurtenant to inspections is also desirable. To aid in this, industrial machine components may be stamped with identifiers, and cataloged in a database. During disassembly for repair and/or inspection, components may be removed from the industrial machine and their identification codes may be scanned. The scanned identification code may be compared with the database of components, and the part being scanned may be identified. However, this solution still requires the disassembly of the industrial machine in order to access the identification code for scanning, which incurs costs both in labor required to disassemble the machine and casing, and in non-productive down time for the machine.